A Splendora man who left his children living in a converted school bus in 2012 while he served time for embezzling Hurricane Ike benefit money is now facing child sex abuse charges in Montgomery and Liberty counties.
Mark Wayne Shorten, 62, was arrested Wednesday by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputies who had a warrant at his home. Shorten is at the Montgomery County Jail with bonds totaling $1.5 million.
According to information from the sheriff’s office, the arrest comes after a lengthy investigation that resulted in a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child between 2009 and 2022 in Montgomery County and two counts of sexual assault in Montgomery and Liberty counties. The investigation is ongoing.
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Shorten does not have an attorney of record on file.
Shorten and his wife, Sherrie, made headlines in 2012 after their two young children were found living unsupervised in a converted school bus on a trash-ridden property in Splendora. The parents were serving 18 months after they were convicted of embezzling money from victims of Hurricane Ike in 2008 after helping them obtain federal loans.
In March 2012 the children were placed in protective care before they were reunited with their parents in October 2012.
“If you love your family, you never give up,” Mark Shorten said in a January 2013 Courier article. “You do what it takes. … It takes a lot of faith in God, belief in your family and a good attorney. You just work the problem, just don’t give up, hunker down and work the problem.”
The Shortens pleaded guilty in June of 2011 to conspiracy charges. According to previous Courier and Houston Chronicle reports, federal prosecutors say the couple plotted to embezzle money from victims of Hurricane Ike after helping them secure a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration to repair damage to their homes.
Sherrie Shorten, as the owner of AFS Financial, helped the victims obtain a loan, and Mark Shorten, the owner of U.S. Expedited, a construction/repair company, agreed to be the contractor for the repairs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Once the $126,300 loan was approved, the victims signed a limited power of attorney and gave AFS Financial authority to communicate and transact business with the Small Business Administration to have the loans disbursed.
The Shortens were ordered to pay $126,300 in restitution, court records show.
